Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 28:28
When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.
Men hide themselves; men, i.e. righteous men, as appears from the following clause, are ashamed and afraid to appear publicly; of which See Poole “Pro 28:12“.
The righteous increase; they who were righteous do now again appear in public, and being advanced to that power which the wicked rulers have lost, they use their authority to encourage and promote righteousness, and to punish unrighteousness, whereby the number of wicked men is diminished, and the righteous are multiplied.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28. The elevation of the wickedto power drives men to seek refuge from tyranny (compare Pro 28:12;Pro 11:10; Psa 12:8).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
When the wicked rise, men hide themselves,…. When wicked men are raised to places of power and authority, rich men hide themselves, lest they should become a prey to them; and good men hide themselves, that they may not be put to death by them; or as ashamed to behold their evil actions; [See comments on Pr 28:12];
but when they perish; wicked men, either by a natural or violent death; or perish as to their authority and power, being turned out of their places:
the righteous increase; such who before hid themselves appear, and, being put into the places of the wicked, encourage truth and righteousness, by which means the number of good men is multiplied; and which is a great happiness to a nation, and shows the usefulness and advantage that good magistrates are of unto it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The following proverb resembles the beginnings Pro 28:2, Pro 28:12. The proverbs Pro 28:28; Pro 29:1-3, form a beautiful square grasp, in which the first and third, and the second and fourth, correspond to one another.
28 When the godless rise up, men hide themselves;
And when they perish, the righteous increase.
Line first is a variation of 12b. Since they who hide themselves are merely called men, people, the meaning of is probably not this, that the righteous then from all sides come out into the foreground (Hitzig), but that they prosper, multiply, and increase as do plants, when the worms, caterpillars, and the like are destroyed (Fleischer); Lwenstein glosses by , they become great = powerful, but that would be Elihu’s style, Job 33:12, which is not in common use; the names of masters and of those in authority, , , , , are all derived from , not from . The increase is to be understood of the prosperous growth (to become great = to increase, as perhaps also Gen 21:10) of the congregation of the righteous, which gains in the overthrow of the godless an accession to its numbers; cf. Pro 29:2, and especially Pro 29:16.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.
This is to the same purport with what we had, v. 12. 1. When bad men are preferred, that which is good is clouded and run down. When power is put into the hands of the wicked, men hide themselves; wise men retire into privacy, and decline public business, not caring to be employed under them; rich men get out of the way, for fear of being squeezed for what they have; and, which is worst of all, good men abscond, despairing to do good and fearing to be persecuted and ill-treated. 2. When bad men are disgraced, degraded, and their power taken from them, then that which is good revives again, then the righteous increase; for, when they perish, good men will be put in their room, who will, by their example and interest, countenance religion and righteousness. It is well with a land when the number of good people increases in it; and it is therefore the policy of all princes, states, and potentates, to encourage them and to take special care of the good education of youth.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
The Righteous An Asset-Wicked A Liability
Verse 28- See comment on Pro 11:10.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
28. When the wicked rise When bad men are in power, good men flee from their tyranny. But when bad rulers are destroyed, the good come back from their exile, or out of obscurity, and multiply in the land.
Righteous increase Or, “are made great.” Miller. Comp. Pro 28:12; Pro 11:10; Pro 11:21; Pro 29:2.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
REFLECTIONS.
READER! I take occasion from the view of this chapter, and the contents of it, to remind your heart, and my own, how truly blessed it must be to find Christ in his hidden word; and what distinguishing tokens of favour it brings with it, when this is the case. And, indeed, may we not suppose, that if some portions of scripture are made more obscure than others, it is with a design to call up the more awakened attention of the Lord’s people; that when Christ is discovered in them, the joy of having found him, may be more blessed. Is not this like the riddle of Samson, Out of the eater cometh forth meat; and out of the strong cometh forth sweetness?
Precious Jesus! may my soul know thee as the way to the Father, the truth, and the life eternal! And may my soul be always found in this way, walking in it, and enjoying all divine comforts in it. Yes, blessed Lord! this is the highway which the Prophet was commanded to tell the church should be thrown open, and which should be called the way of holiness. And while the foolish see it not, and the proud despise it, and the unclean shall not pass over it. T he wayfaring men, though fools, in human sciences, and human knowledge, shall not err therein. Blessed God! do thou strengthen me more and more in this way, that I may walk up and down in thy Name.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 28:28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.
Ver. 28. When the wicked rise, men hide themselves. ] They are glad to skulk and shelter themselves from that fierce storm. See Trapp on “ Pro 28:12 “
But when they perish, the righteous increase.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 28:28
Pro 28:28
“When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase.”
We have already reviewed two companion verses: this one in Pro 28:12, above, and in Pro 11:10. We shall also have it again in Pro 29:2. Nothing can be a source of more apprehension and dread for a community than the ascendancy of wicked people to positions of power and authority. Delitzsch gave this rendition: “When the godless rise up, men hide themselves; and when they perish the righteous increase.” When the wicked are removed from such eminence, we might also add that the people rejoice (Pro 29:2). They come out of their hiding places and have great glory (Pro 28:12). The inherent sorrow, distress, violence and oppression of evil appears not only in the sorrow of certain communities but in the tragic status of all mankind. Our sinning shameful race, in rebellion against their Creator, is on a collision course with disaster, which shall occur on that day described in Rev 6:12-17.
Pro 28:28. Rise to power is the thought. How tragic that in the worlds history there have been so many wicked as rulers! This may be partly due to the humility of the godly, causing them to be meek among men, not seeking places of eminence even though they be places of service to mankind. But the wicked are often graspy, covetousness, and proud, and they by nature seek such places of prominence. The first statement of our verse is also found in Pro 28:12. Pro 29:2 says, When a wicked man beareth rule, the people sigh. Israel probably liked the first years of Solomons reign, when he was seeking to do Gods will, better than his latter years, when he was idolatrous. They demanded a more civil rule from his son Rehoboam (1Ki 12:4). Our verse shows that when the wicked leadership passes, righteousness increases to the true exaltation of the nation (Pro 14:34). Pulpit Commentary: The overthrow of the ungodly adds to the prosperity of the righteous…promotes their advancement in influence and numbers.
Proverbs of Solomon – Pro 28:1-28
Open It
1. What do you usually do when a street person or beggar asks you for money?
2. What sort of fantasies or desires do television commercials encourage people to pursue?
Explore It
3. How did Solomon contrast the wicked and the righteous? (Pro 28:1)
4. What types of individuals did Solomon discuss in this chapter? (Pro 28:1-28)
5.What topics are dealt with in these proverbs? (Pro 28:1-28)
6. What can we learn about a person from how he or she speaks about the wicked? (Pro 28:4)
7. Who understands justice? (Pro 28:5)
8. What type of person is better than a rich person? (Pro 28:6)
9. What kind of poor person has the advantage over rich people? (Pro 28:11)
10. What are the consequences of concealing ones sins? of confessing them? (Pro 28:13)
11. What did Solomon say about the person who fears the Lord and about the person who hardens his or her heart? (Pro 28:14)
12. How do blameless people and perverse people differ? (Pro 28:18)
13. What promise applies to the person who chases fantasies? (Pro 28:19)
14. Who gains a lot of favor with others? (Pro 28:23)
15. Why is it bad to trust in yourself? (Pro 28:26)
16. What should be our response to the needs of poor people? (Pro 28:27)
Get It
17. How do we forsake the law by our behavior?
18. Why do you think it is better to be poor and blameless than rich and perverse?
19. When are you tempted to conceal rather than to confess your sins?
20. How does a persons heart become hardened?
21. What sort of fantasies do people often chase?
22. What kind of person is willing to rebuke someone honestly?
23. What kind of person uses flattering words?
24. What does it mean to trust in ones self?
25. Why would you be tempted to close your eyes to the problem of poverty?
Apply It
26. What fantasy that you have foolishly chased will you put behind you?
27. What is one part of your life-style that you can change in an effort to live a blameless life?
28. What is one thing you can do this week to help someone in need?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the wicked: Pro 28:12, Pro 29:2
hide: Job 24:4
they perish: Est 8:17, Act 12:23, Act 12:24
Reciprocal: Psa 101:6 – Mine Pro 11:10 – it goeth Ecc 10:6 – Folly
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 28:28. When the wicked rise, &c. See on Pro 28:12; but when they perish When wicked men are displaced, degraded, and their power is taken from them; the righteous increase They who are righteous appear again in public, and, being advanced to that power which the wicked rulers have lost, they use their authority to encourage and promote righteousness, and to punish unrighteousness, whereby the number of wicked men is diminished, and the righteous are multiplied.